News Releases

Three Universities in the Southeast win U.S EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet competition

(ATLANTA – April 28, 2010) Student teams across the Southeast are developing green solutions to protect the planet, thanks to EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) award competition, which demonstrates that protecting the environment can also be economically profitable. EPA awarded three of the fourteen P3 grants to universities in the Southeast funded up to $75,000 to further develop a design, implement it in the field, or move it to the marketplace. The national P3 award competition encourages college students to create sustainable solutions to worldwide environmental problems through technological innovation. “These award winners are showing the sustainable way to the future,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator Stan Meiburg. “Their innovation and creativity show us that we can protect our environment and grow our economy."

Winners of the EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) awards developed sustainable projects and ideas that protect the environment, encourage economic growth and use natural resources more efficiently. The three winners of this year's awards in the Southeast and their projects are:

Appalachian State University - Biomass Gasification for Agricultural Energy Sources and Soil EnrichmentNorth Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University - Enhancing Urban Sustainability through the Application of Permaculture PrinciplesUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Evaluation of Chitosan Coagulation as a Sustainable Method for Point of Use Drinking Water Treatment in Developing Countries

The P3 award competition and 6th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo was held at EPA’s 40th anniversary celebration of Earth Day, April 23-26. Each year, the expo showcases innovative, cutting-edge technologies designed by student teams along with sustainable policies and technologies developed and implemented by government and state agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

Support for the competition includes more than 40 partners in the federal government, industry, and scientific and professional societies. This year’s expo was co-sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).